Every construction leader knows the pain of an unfilled role.
A Project Manager vacancy that drags on for weeks. A Foreman who resigns mid-project. A new build that falls behind schedule because there’s no one to coordinate subs.
What most companies don’t calculate is just how expensive that delay really is.
The True Cost of Vacancy
For every 30 days a critical construction role remains unfilled, companies lose an estimated $15,000–$25,000 in direct and indirect costs.
That includes overtime, schedule slips, safety risks, and the ripple effect across crews and subcontractors.
And yet, many teams still rely on the same reactive hiring habits they’ve used for years:
- Waiting until someone quits to start recruiting
- Letting overworked superintendents “fill in” until help arrives
- Losing candidates to slow follow-up or unclear job scopes
These habits don’t just delay projects — they cost real money.
Why Construction Hiring Needs a Different Approach
Construction hiring isn’t the same as hiring in an office environment.
Every decision impacts field safety, budgets, client trust, and schedule integrity. A late hire can derail an entire project phase.
At Delectus, we help construction companies move from reactive hiring to predictable workforce planning through our five-step roadmap:
- Assess: Identify where your hiring slows down
- Define: Align job clarity with project timelines
- Build: Create proactive sourcing strategies
- Select: Standardize screening and onboarding
- Measure: Track key hiring metrics to improve time-to-fill and retention
The Delectus Hiring Scorecard
To make this easier, we built a short diagnostic tool — the Delectus Construction Hiring Scorecard.
It’s a quick, 2-minute assessment that helps construction leaders:
- Identify bottlenecks in their current hiring process
- Measure how much open roles are really costing their projects
- Receive a free Hiring Blueprint with action steps to improve time-to-fill and cost-per-hire
Our clients typically reduce time-to-hire by 40% within 90 days after implementing the roadmap.